Thermal spray systems are used in a wide variety of industrial applications to coat substrates with coating material to modify or improve the properties of the target surface. Coatings may include thermal barrier coatings, hard wear coatings, ablative coatings, or the like. Thermal spray systems such as high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) systems introduce coating material in a plume so that molten particles propelled by the plume contact the surface of the target. Upon impact, the particles adhere to the target surface, resulting in a coating. A controlled ignition of a gas mixture may be used in HVOF systems to generate the plume.